Teen Says Creating Awareness The Goal Behind Thanksgiving 'Homeless' Video
DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) - How was your Thanksgiving? For one 17-year-old Thanksgiving 2015 was among the most memorable and heartfelt.
Two metro Detroit friends, Jalal Ahmed and Sami Ali, 19, joined forces to make a connection and one meal-at-a-time difference in the lives of several homeless men and women on Thanksgiving day.
Ahmed, a high schooler at Frontier International Academy says he's been wanting to do this and make a video about helping for a long time.
"I saw another video and I thought of this idea; 'why not help people out?' We went out and got some food ... we see people everyday and it's pretty sad," said Ahmed. "Just give a helping hand -- put your heart out there."
If you give a bit of your heart and share your love - you will get love in return says Ahmed.
"They were happy -- supper happy," he said. "There was one man, with a big smile on his face -- it made my day -- it made his day. It was the best thing ever."
Ahmed says one of the benefits of making the video is creating awareness, his awareness of the problem of homelessness and creating a general awareness of the issue.
It was as simple as going to the store to buy food and water and passing it out to homeless people they saw along their drive.
Ultimately, they'd like to be able to donate money to a church in Detroit which provides food for the homeless -- every 1000 views on YouTube gives the duo between 4 and 6 dollars.
"The video would not be possible without the help of my friend Sami -- I'm a new driver," Ahmed said gratefully.
